Branch Russell
Right Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Branch Russell was a right fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs, the St. Louis Stars, and the Cleveland Stars. In 767 career games, he hit .309 with 889 hits, 57 home runs, and 484 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 8,899.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Right Fielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 165 lb
- Died
- 5/1/1959 in St. Louis, MO, USA
Full name: Branch Lee Russell
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 767 | 2,881 | 635 | 889 | 136 | 76 | 57 | 484 | 80 | 370 | 5 | .309 | .393 | .468 | .861 | 8,899 |
Career AVG .309 vs. league average .284 across their career seasons — +8.8% above league average.
Career OBP .393 vs. league average .346 across their career seasons — +13.7% above league average.
Career SLG .468 vs. league average .399 across their career seasons — +17.3% above league average.
Career OPS .861 vs. league average .744 across their career seasons — +15.6% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | KCM | NNL | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1922 | SLS | NNL | 46 | 179 | 42 | 54 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 7 | 16 | 1 | .302 | .285 (+6%) | .345 (+5%) | .397 (+10%) | .743 (+7%) | 0.0 |
| 1923 | SLS | NNL | 81 | 315 | 64 | 89 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 45 | 7 | 25 | 0 | .283 | .282 (avg) | .344 (avg) | .390 (+7%) | .734 (+4%) | 176.5 |
| 1924 | SLS | NNL | 69 | 272 | 56 | 83 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 12 | 27 | 1 | .305 | .283 (+7%) | .345 (+9%) | .389 (+25%) | .734 (+17%) | 846.8 |
| 1925 | SLS | NNL | 81 | 278 | 62 | 85 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 63 | 8 | 51 | 0 | .306 | .288 (+6%) | .349 (+18%) | .407 (+27%) | .756 (+23%) | 1311.9 |
| 1926 | SLS | NNL | 86 | 298 | 73 | 91 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 59 | 10 | 53 | 0 | .305 | .279 (+9%) | .345 (+22%) | .390 (+32%) | .735 (+27%) | 1647.9 |
| 1927 | SLS | NNL | 96 | 390 | 78 | 125 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 53 | 10 | 40 | 0 | .321 | .282 (+14%) | .344 (+13%) | .392 (+25%) | .736 (+19%) | 1450.4 |
| 1928 | SLS | NNL | 78 | 308 | 62 | 92 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 43 | 4 | 30 | 2 | .299 | .280 (+6%) | .342 (+7%) | .395 (+14%) | .737 (+11%) | 586.0 |
| 1929 | SLS | NNL | 91 | 324 | 84 | 102 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 47 | 6 | 58 | 0 | .315 | .289 (+9%) | .353 (+21%) | .415 (+8%) | .769 (+14%) | 1084.0 |
| 1930 | SLS | NNL | 90 | 352 | 91 | 117 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 71 | 9 | 42 | 1 | .332 | .293 (+13%) | .354 (+15%) | .429 (+10%) | .784 (+12%) | 1007.2 |
| 1931 | SLS | NNL | 31 | 109 | 16 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 5 | 17 | 0 | .312 | .276 (+13%) | .338 (+21%) | .388 (+2%) | .726 (+11%) | 274.9 |
| 1932 | CLS | EWL | 16 | 51 | 6 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 0 | .333 | .275 (+21%) | .335 (+35%) | .391 (+25%) | .726 (+30%) | 289.7 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 767 | 2,881 | 635 | 889 | 136 | 76 | 57 | 484 | 80 | 370 | 5 | .309 | — | — | — | — | 8,675 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 5 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
Last 5 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929-06-09 | SSN | CAG | W | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1928-07-29 | SSN | DT1 | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1925-08-11 | SSN | KCM | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924-04-27 | SSN | KCM | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1922-06-27 | SSN | DT1 | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 76 | 50 | 87 | 173 | 19 | 16 |
| 3B | 76 | 65 | 64 | 146 | 15 | 10 |
| OF | 588 | 505 | 724 | 61 | 38 | 14 |
| SS | 59 | 55 | 137 | 193 | 30 | 33 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | KCM | OF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1922 | SLS | 2B | 12 | 12 | 20 | 47 | 4 | 2 |
| 1922 | SLS | 3B | 24 | 24 | 25 | 66 | 3 | 6 |
| 1922 | SLS | OF | 10 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923 | SLS | 2B | 6 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 2 | 2 |
| 1923 | SLS | 3B | 25 | 23 | 23 | 47 | 4 | 3 |
| 1923 | SLS | OF | 34 | 33 | 47 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 1923 | SLS | SS | 22 | 19 | 47 | 68 | 12 | 11 |
| 1924 | SLS | 2B | 12 | 8 | 17 | 26 | 5 | 0 |
| 1924 | SLS | 3B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1924 | SLS | OF | 42 | 40 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924 | SLS | SS | 18 | 18 | 42 | 61 | 10 | 8 |
| 1925 | SLS | 2B | 20 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1925 | SLS | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1925 | SLS | OF | 70 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | SLS | 2B | 8 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 3 | 3 |
| 1926 | SLS | OF | 68 | 66 | 95 | 11 | 8 | 4 |
| 1926 | SLS | SS | 11 | 10 | 31 | 36 | 5 | 6 |
| 1927 | SLS | 2B | 6 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 1927 | SLS | 3B | 9 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| 1927 | SLS | OF | 82 | 77 | 123 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| 1927 | SLS | SS | 3 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| 1928 | SLS | 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | SLS | OF | 76 | 75 | 91 | 7 | 9 | 1 |
| 1928 | SLS | SS | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 1929 | SLS | 2B | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| 1929 | SLS | 3B | 8 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| 1929 | SLS | OF | 83 | 81 | 128 | 11 | 10 | 3 |
| 1930 | SLS | OF | 86 | 86 | 112 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
| 1930 | SLS | SS | 4 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 2 |
| 1931 | SLS | 2B | 8 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 3 | 2 |
| 1931 | SLS | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931 | SLS | OF | 23 | 22 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1932 | CLS | 2B | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
| 1932 | CLS | OF | 13 | 13 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 76 |
| Third Base | 76 |
| Shortstop | 59 |
| Left Field | 33 |
| Center Field | 5 |
| Right Field | 550 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Frequently Asked Questions about Branch Russell
- Was Branch Russell a pitcher?
- No. Branch Russell was a position player (Right Fielder).
- How many home runs did Branch Russell hit?
- Branch Russell hit 57 career home runs with 889 hits.
- What was Branch Russell's career batting average?
- Branch Russell batted .309 over his career, with 889 hits in 2,881 at bats.
- How many RBI did Branch Russell have?
- Branch Russell drove in 484 runs in his career.
- Is Branch Russell in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Branch Russell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- What teams did Branch Russell play for?
- Branch Russell played for the Kansas City Monarchs, the St. Louis Stars, and the Cleveland Stars.